The Phoenix Coyotes are picking the right time to up their game and make a playoff push. After knocking off the visiting Colorado Avalanche 4-0 on Saturday night the Coyotes have won four of their last five games and are two points away from the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“You're not going to give yourself a chance if you don't take care of yourself first,” Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. “Every guy would be lying if they told you that they don't look at the standings. Everybody knows where you are but the reality is that you have to take care of your own situation before you worry about other situations.”
The Coyotes came out swinging and took a 1-0 lead with the first two-minutes of the opening period. Mikkel Boedker blasted a wrister into the basket at the 1:46 mark of the first. It was Boedker's seventh goal of the season and he was assisted by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Martin Hanzal.
The Coyotes extended their lead early in the second period. After a Colorado penalty the Coyotes Shane Doan and Martin Hanzal broke away from the pack. After a give and go, that may have reminded the Phoenix faithful of Steve Nash and A'mare Stoudemire during their Suns days, Hanzal easily scored his 11th goal of the season.
Less than four-minutes later, at the 7:04 mark of the second, the Coyotes center Boyd Gordon scored his third goal of the season and Phoenix took a commanding 3-0 lead. Doan capped off the offensive surge by scoring his 13th goal of the season. With less than 5:30 left in the second period the Coyotes had a 4-0 lead and total control off the game.
A four-goal lead was more than enough for the returning Mike Smith. The Coyotes' goalie was in the cage after missing the last six-games due to an upper body injury. Smith stopped 24-shots for his fifth shutout of the season.
The 4-0 victory is the third straight win for Phoenix and improved their season tally to 17-15-6 (40 pts). The Coyotes now head to western Canada to start a three game road trip. Their next contest is on Monday, April 8th against the Vancouver Canucks. The puck is scheduled at 7 p.m. (ET) at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
“If we take care of our own business,” Doan said. “If we keep on winning we're going to have a chance to maybe get in the playoffs. The last six points were huge and we got them. But it doesn't mean much if we go on this road trip and lay an egg.”
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